How Apollo Flew to the Moon

by Woods, W. David

• ISBN13: 9780387716756
• ISBN10: 0387716750
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-12-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Stung by the pioneering space successes of the Soviet Union, the United States gathered the best of its engineers and set itself the goal of reaching the Moon within a decade.

Author Biography

Apollo arose from the depths of America's post war aeronautical research facilities and was originally conceived as a general purpose spacecraft.Between 1968 and 1972, demonstrating sheer daring, twenty four men journeyed from the Earth to the Moon in the mid-twentieth century. The techniques and procedures developed for what was seen as a political decision by President John F Kennedy, was subsequently recognised as a supreme example of human exploration at its greatest, demonstrating an apparent peak of technological excellence.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. xi
Author's preface	p. xvii
Acknowledgements	p. xxi
Foreword	p. xxiii
Apollo: an extraordinary adventure	p. 1
The meaning of Apollo	p. 1
Dreaming of the Moon	p. 5
The Apollo spaceship	p. 7
Which way?	p. 8
Lunar orbit rendezvous	p. 10
Equipment	p. 12
Swords to ploughshares: von Braun's rockets	p. 17
The Apollo flights: a brief history	p. 25
An alphabet of missions	p. 25
Failure of imagination	p. 26
Back in the saddle: Apollo 4	p. 28
The lunar module flies: Apollo 5	p. 29
The Saturn balks: Apollo 6	p. 29
Testing Block II: Apollo 7	p. 31
Gutsy decisions: Apollo 8	p. 32
A complete system test: Apollo 9	p. 34
A dress rehearsal: Apollo 10	p. 36
Task accomplished: Apollo 11	p. 37
Lightning strikes: Apollo 12	p. 40
The successful failure: Apollo 13	p. 41
Try again: Apollo 14	p. 43
Exploration at its greatest: Apollo 15	p. 44
New knowledge: Apollo 16	p. 47
The last hurrah: Apollo 17	p. 48
Goodbye Apollo	p. 50
Launch: a fiery departure	p. 53
Preparations for launch	p. 53
Lift-off	p. 63
Getting through the atmosphere	p. 69
Second stage	p. 76
Third stage	p. 87
Earth orbit and TLI	p. 89
Settling into orbit	p. 89
Around the world in 90 minutes	p. 90
Coasting around Earth	p. 95
The route to the Moon	p. 103
Retrieving the lander	p. 111
Leaving Earth	p. 111
Transposition, docking and extraction	p. 113
"No latch, Houston"	p. 119
The fate of the S-IVB	p. 123
Navigating to the Moon	p. 129
Crossing cislunar space	p. 129
Ground-based tracking	p. 134
Navigation from the spacecraft	p. 136
The guidance and navigation system	p. 140
Coasting to the Moon	p. 153
Three men in a submarine	p. 153
Sustaining life	p. 155
The personal bit	p. 158
Cool air	p. 170
PTC: spacecraft on a spit	p. 175
Stirring the tanks: genesis of a failure	p. 176
Communications	p. 178
Telly from the Moon	p. 181
Checking the lunar module	p. 185
Entering lunar orbit: the LOI manoeuvre	p. 189
The service module	p. 189
How not to crash into the Moon	p. 193
Lunar encounter	p. 194
The LOI PAD: it isn't magic	p. 197
The black void	p. 204
Luna close up: burning LOI	p. 207
Preparations for landing	p. 211
Overjoyed	p. 211
The second arrival burn	p. 212
How not to crash into the Moon	p. 213
The joys of lunar orbit	p. 214
In the descent orbit	p. 218
Entering the lunar module	p. 221
Continuing preparations	p. 229
Undocking	p. 231
Next stop: the Moon	p. 241
"Go for the Pro": the landing begins	p. 241
Slowing down: P63	p. 244
"Hey, there it is!": pitchover and P64	p. 249
"Picking up some dust": P66	p. 254
Orbital sojourn: looking at the Moon	p. 259
Luna cognita	p. 259
Unmanned probes	p. 263
Apollo reaches the Moon	p. 265
Science station in lunar orbit	p. 269
Rendezvous and docking	p. 283
Orbital mechanics	p. 284
We have lift-off... from the Moon!	p. 287
Rendezvous techniques	p. 293
Braking and station-keeping	p. 299
A long day	p. 305
The role of mission control	p. 310
Epitaph for the lunar module	p. 314
Heading for home	p. 315
Mission accomplished... nearly	p. 315
Trans-Earth injection	p. 315
Subsatellite	p. 317
The TEI PAD: a worked example	p. 320
Counting down to the burn	p. 323
The long fall to Earth	p. 329
A walk outside: EVA	p. 339
Re-entry	p. 347
A fiery return	p. 347
In we come: entry from start to finish	p. 350
The entry PAD: a worked example	p. 351
Entry REFSMMAT	p. 355
Final four hours	p. 356
Last hour	p. 360
Human shooting star: P63	p. 364
Ensuring capture: P64	p. 366
Aiming for the ships: P67	p. 369
Splashdown	p. 374
Epilogue	p. 381
Glossary	p. 383
Further reading	p. 389
Index	p. 393
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